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Why Kudus, Other Senior Players Missed Black Stars Squad

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has revealed that injuries and other reasons caused the absence of several key players from the Black Stars squad for the upcoming 2025 Unity Cup tournament.

The squad, announced by head coach Otto Addo, includes a mix of home-based players and young talents from Europe. New captain Jordan Ayew will lead the team in the four-nation tournament, where Ghana will face West African rivals Nigeria in a high-profile semi-final on May 28, 2025, at Brentford’s GTech Community Stadium in London.

However, the GFA confirmed that some important players could not join the squad due to injuries, club commitments, and personal reasons. Among those missing are Mohammed Kudus, Thomas Partey, Inaki Williams, Ernest Nuamah, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Alexander Djiku, and others.

In its official statement, the GFA explained that several players were unavailable because their clubs’ seasons had not finished. For example, Jerome Opoku and Alexander Djiku, who play in Turkey, could not be released since the Turkish league was still ongoing.

Similarly, Joseph Paintsil and Osman Bukari were unavailable due to the continuing MLS season in the United States. Jonas Adjetey was also unavailable as he prepared for the Swiss Cup final with FC Basel on June 1, 2025.

Injuries affected key players such as Abdul Manaf Nurudeen, Abdul Mumin, Tariq Lamptey, Alidu Seidu, Ernest Nuamah, Daniel Kofi Kyereh, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, and Inaki Williams. Additionally, players like Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo, Elisha Owusu, and Ransford Yeboah Konigsdorfer were sidelined with minor knocks.

The head coach also gave a rest to Thomas Partey and Michael Baidoo for personal and tactical reasons.

Despite the many absences, the Black Stars squad remains competitive with Jordan Ayew leading the team. The GFA did not comment on the absence of André Dede Ayew, who was reportedly not favored by coach Otto Addo since his second return to the team.

Ghana will face Nigeria on May 28, 2025 at 7 PM GMT in the semi-finals of the Unity Cup. The match promises to be a tough test for the Black Stars as they aim to perform well despite missing some key players.

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